Leadership lost

Leadership is a skill. One that doesn’t always come naturally to us. We need to learn, then practise those skills and adapt a style that resonates with our personality. Usually, you would actively seek out opportunities to exercise leadership skills. Occasionally opportunities come your way disguised as other tasks. How you handle those opportunities can have a significant impact on your career. Let me walk you through one such opportunity that highlights how not to handle one.

I will leave you with some lessons to consider.

While working for a quite large organisation my manager at the time, a highly regarded leader, casually asked me to nursemaid a small team for a couple of months. Their previous manager had moved on and a new one was being recruited. Effectively I was tasked to do the normal admin for them such as approve expenses, leave etc until the role was filled.

The team was competent and self-sufficient. I saw little benefit to them or myself in engaging fully or inserting myself into their operation. Especially for just eight weeks. But those weeks dragged into several months. Eventually members of the team approached me and reprimanded me for ignoring them, quite rightly.

My plaintive excuse of being a mere caretaker didn’t wash. I met with each of them individually allowing them to express their frustration and agreed on a defined working arrangement. It was a salutary lesson. When the new manager took over about eight months after my initial assignment, I was torn at having to leave them and deeply disappointed with myself at the missed opportunity.

That wasted time most certainly took me out of contention for a role well suited to my skill set and an opportunity to shine as a more senior manager.

Some very simple takeaways

Consider every interaction with others, teams or individuals, as an opportunity to show leadership. How could you help? How could you contribute?

Actively listen to what is happening around you. Look out for gaps in knowledge or skills you could fill.

Treat every approach from anyone asking for help as a chance to provide mentoring beyond just answering their questions.

Leadership is not management. You can lead in your team without managing the team.